Method for transmitting signal using plurality of antenna ports and transmission end apparatus for same

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to wireless communication, and more particularly, to a method for transmitting a signal using a plurality of antenna ports and a transmission end apparatus for same. According to a method for a transmission end transmitting the signal in a multi-input multi-output (MIMO) wireless communication system of the present invention, a step of transmitting instruction information on a first channel transmission method to a reception end, and a step of transmitting the first channel to the reception end using a resource region are comprised, wherein the first channel is either an advanced-physical downlink control channel (A-PDCCH) or a relay-physical downlink control channel (R-PDCCH), the first channel is not transmitted when at least a portion of the resource region overlaps with a resource region used for transmitting a second channel, and wherein the second channel can be periodically transmitted using a predetermined portion of the resource region.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to wireless communication, and moreparticularly to a method for transmitting a signal using a plurality ofantenna ports and a transmission-end apparatus for the method.

BACKGROUND ART

Wireless communication systems have been widely used to provide variouskinds of communication services such as voice or data services.Generally, a wireless communication system is a multiple access systemthat can communicate with multiple users by sharing available systemresources (bandwidth, transmission (Tx) power, and the like). A varietyof multiple access systems can be used. For example, a Code DivisionMultiple Access (CDMA) system, a Frequency Division Multiple Access(FDMA) system, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) system, anOrthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) system, a SingleCarrier Frequency-Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) system, aMulti-Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (MC-FDMA) system, andthe like.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for enabling atransmission end supporting signal transmission through a plurality ofantenna ports to transmit a signal using the plurality of antenna ports.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a transmission endfor transmitting a signal using a plurality of antenna ports.

It is to be understood that technical objects to be achieved by thepresent invention are not limited to the aforementioned technicalobjects and other technical objects which are not mentioned herein willbe apparent from the following description to one of ordinary skill inthe art to which the present invention pertains.

Technical Solution

The object of the present invention can be achieved by providing amethod for transmitting a signal by a transmitter in a Multiple InputMultiple Output (MIMO) wireless communication system including:transmitting indication information on a transmission scheme of a firstchannel to a receiver; and transmitting the first channel to thereceiver using a resource region, wherein the first channel is anAdvanced-Physical Downlink Control Channel (A-PDCCH) or a Relay-PhysicalDownlink Control Channel (R-PDCCH), and if at least one part of theresource region overlaps a resource region used for transmission of asecond channel, the first channel is not transmitted, and the secondchannel is periodically transmitted using a predetermined part of theresource region.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method fortransmitting a signal by a transmitter in a Multiple Input MultipleOutput (MIMO) wireless communication system includes: transmittingindication information on a transmission scheme of a first channel to areceiver; and transmitting the first channel to the receiver using aresource region, wherein the first channel is an Advanced-PhysicalDownlink Control Channel (A-PDCCH) or a Relay-Physical Downlink ControlChannel (R-PDCCH), and if at least one part of the resource regionoverlaps a resource region used for transmission of a second channel,the first channel is transmitted using the remaining resource regionsother than the overlapped at least one part of the resource region, andthe second channel is periodically transmitted using a predeterminedpart of the resource region.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, atransmitter for transmitting a signal in a Multiple Input MultipleOutput (MIMO) wireless communication system includes: a transmissionmodule configured to transmit indication information on a transmissionscheme of a first channel to a receiver, and transmit the first channelto the receiver using a resource region; and a processor, if at leastone part of the resource region overlaps a resource region used fortransmission of a second channel, configured to prevent a transmissionof the first channel, wherein the first channel is an Advanced-PhysicalDownlink Control Channel (A-PDCCH) or a Relay-Physical Downlink ControlChannel (R-PDCCH), and the second channel is periodically transmittedusing a predetermined part of the resource region.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, atransmitter for transmitting a signal in a Multiple Input MultipleOutput (MIMO) wireless communication system includes: a transmissionmodule configured to transmit indication information on a transmissionscheme of a first channel to a receiver, and transmit the first channelto the receiver using a resource region; and a processor, if at leastone part of the resource region overlaps a resource region used fortransmission of a second channel, configured to transmit the firstchannel using the remaining resource region other than the overlapped atleast one part of the resource region, wherein the first channel is anAdvanced-Physical Downlink Control Channel (A-PDCCH) or a Relay-PhysicalDownlink Control Channel (R-PDCCH), and the second channel isperiodically transmitted using a predetermined part of the resourceregion.

Advantageous Effects

As is apparent from the above description, the embodiments of thepresent invention can enable a reception end to improve a decodingthroughput of an A-PDCCH or R-PDCCH, and can enable a transmission endto transmit on a A-PDCCH or R-PDCCH using a spatial multiplexing scheme,resulting in increased efficiency of resource usage.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the effectsthat can be achieved through the present invention are not limited towhat has been particularly described hereinabove and other advantages ofthe present invention will be more clearly understood from the followingdetailed description.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention, illustrate embodiments of the inventionand together with the description serve to explain the principle of theinvention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a transmission end and areception end for use in a wireless communication system.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a radio frame used in a3GPP LTE system as an exemplary mobile communication system.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary structural diagram illustrating downlink anduplink subframes for use in a 3GPP LTE system as an exemplary mobilecommunication system.

FIG. 4 shows a downlink (DL) time-frequency resource grid structure foruse in a 3GPP LTE system.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a legacy PDCCH concept andan A-PDCCH scheme proposed by the embodiment.

FIG. 6 shows an example of collision between PBCH/PSS/SSS and R-PDCCHSearch Space based on DM-RS according to an embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a method for performingmodified VRB-to-PRB mapping considering a plurality of overlapped RBsaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a VRB set configurationconsidering an overlapping region according to an embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram illustrating actual A-PDCCH mapping endslocated before a plurality of overlapping RBs according to anembodiment.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a method for enabling auser equipment (UE) to skip blind decoding during overlapping region.

FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an application example of areduced CCE aggregation level in response to overlapping region(s).

BEST MODE

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. The detailed description, which will be given below withreference to the accompanying drawings, is intended to explain exemplaryembodiments of the present invention, rather than to show the onlyembodiments that can be implemented according to the present invention.The following detailed description includes specific details in order toprovide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, itwill be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present inventionmay be practiced without such specific details. For example, thefollowing description will be given centering upon a mobilecommunication system serving as a 3GPP LTE or LTE-A system, but thepresent invention is not limited thereto and the remaining parts of thepresent invention other than unique characteristics of the 3GPP LTE orLTE-A system are applicable to other mobile communication systems.

In some cases, in order to prevent ambiguity of the concepts of thepresent invention, conventional devices or apparatuses well known tothose skilled in the art will be omitted and be denoted in the form of ablock diagram on the basis of important functions of the presentinvention. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be usedthroughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

In the following description, a terminal may refer to a mobile or fixeduser equipment (UE), for example, a user equipment (UE), a mobilestation (MS) and the like. Also, the base station (BS) may refer to anarbitrary node of a network end which communicates with the aboveterminal, and may include an eNode B (eNB), a Node B (Node-B), an accesspoint (AP) and the like. Although the embodiments of the presentinvention are disclosed on the basis of 3GPP LTE, LTE-A systems forconvenience of description, contents of the present invention can alsobe applied to other communication systems.

In a mobile communication system, the UE may receive information fromthe base station (BS) via a downlink, and may transmit information viaan uplink. The information that is transmitted and received to and fromthe UE includes data and a variety of control information. A variety ofphysical channels are used according to categories of transmission (Tx)and reception (Rx) information of the UE.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a transmission end 105 and areception end 110 for use in a wireless communication system 100according to the present invention.

Although FIG. 1 shows one transmission end 105 and one reception end 110for brief description of the wireless communication system 100, itshould be noted that the wireless communication system 100 may furtherinclude one or more transmission ends and/or one or more reception ends.

Referring to FIG. 1, the transmission end 105 may include a transmission(Tx) data processor 115, a symbol modulator 120, a transmitter 125, atransmission/reception antenna 130, a processor 180, a memory 185, areceiver 190, a symbol demodulator 195, and a reception (Rx) dataprocessor 197. The reception end 110 may include a Tx data processor165, a symbol modulator 170, a transmitter 175, a transmission/receptionantenna 135, a processor 155, a memory 160, a receiver 140, a symboldemodulator 155, and a Rx data processor 150. In FIG. 1, although oneantenna 130 is used for the transmission end 105 and one antenna 135 isused for the reception end 110, each of the transmission end 105 and thereception end 110 may also include a plurality of antennas as necessary.Therefore, the transmission end 105 and the reception end 110 accordingto the present invention support a Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO)system. The transmission end 105 according to the present invention cansupport both a Single User-MIMO (SU-MIMO) scheme and a Multi User-MIMO(MU-MIMO) scheme.

In downlink, the Tx data processor 115 receives traffic data, formatsthe received traffic data, codes the formatted traffic data, andinterleaves the coded traffic data, and modulates the interleaved data(or performs symbol mapping upon the interleaved data), such that itprovides modulation symbols (i.e., data symbols). The symbol modulator120 receives and processes the data symbols and pilot symbols, such thatit provides a stream of symbol.

The symbol modulator 120 multiplexes data and pilot symbols, andtransmits the multiplexed data and pilot symbols to the transmitter 125.In this case, each transmission (Tx) symbol may be a data symbol, apilot symbol, or a value of a zero signal (null signal). In each symbolperiod, pilot symbols may be successively transmitted during each symbolperiod. The pilot symbols may be an FDM symbol, an OFDM symbol, a TimeDivision Multiplexing (TDM) symbol, or a Code Division Multiplexing(CDM) symbol.

The transmitter 125 receives a stream of symbols, converts the receivedsymbols into one or more analog signals, and additionally adjusts theone or more analog signals (e.g., amplification, filtering, andfrequency upconversion of the analog signals), such that it generates adownlink signal appropriate for data transmission through an RF channel.Subsequently, the downlink signal is transmitted to the RN through theantenna 130. The Tx antenna 130 transmits the generated DL signal to theUE.

Configuration of the reception end 110 will hereinafter be described indetail. The Rx antenna 135 of the reception end 110 receives a DL signalfrom the transmission end 105, and transmits the DL signal to thereceiver 140. The receiver 140 performs adjustment (e.g., filtering,amplification, and frequency downconversion) of the received DL signal,and digitizes the adjusted signal to obtain samples. The symboldemodulator 145 demodulates the received pilot symbols, and provides thedemodulated result to the processor 155 to perform channel estimation.

The symbol demodulator 145 receives a frequency response estimationvalue for downlink from the processor 155, demodulates the received datasymbols, obtains data symbol estimation values (indicating estimationvalues of the transmitted data symbols), and provides the data symbolestimation values to the Rx data processor 150. The Rx data processor150 performs demodulation (i.e., symbol-demapping) of data symbolestimation values, deinterleaves the demodulated result, decodes thedeinterleaved result, and recovers the transmitted traffic data.

The processing of the symbol demodulator 145 and the Rx data processor150 is complementary to that of the symbol modulator 120 and the Tx dataprocessor 115 in the transmission end 105.

The Tx data processor 165 of the reception end 110 processes trafficdata in uplink, and provides data symbols. The symbol modulator 170receives and multiplexes data symbols, and modulates the multiplexeddata symbols, such that it can provide a stream of symbols to thetransmitter 175. The transmitter 175 receives and processes the streamof symbols to generate an uplink (UL) signal, and the UL signal istransmitted to the transmission end 105 through the Tx antenna 135.

The transmission end 105 receives the UL signal from the UE 110 throughthe antenna 130. The receiver processes the received UL signal to obtainsamples. Subsequently, the symbol demodulator 195 processes the symbols,and provides pilot symbols and data symbol estimation values receivedvia uplink. The Rx data processor 197 processes the data symbolestimation value, and recovers traffic data received from the receptionend 110.

Processor 155 or 180 of the reception end 110 or the transmission end105 commands or indicates operations of the reception end 110 or thetransmission end 105. For example, the processor 155 or 180 of thereception end 110 or the transmission end 105 controls, adjusts, andmanages operations of the reception end 110 or the transmission end 105.Each processor 155 or 180 may be connected to a memory unit 160 or 185for storing program code and data. The memory 160 or 185 is connected tothe processor 155 or 180, such that it can store the operating system,applications, and general files.

The processor 155 or 180 may also be referred to as a controller, amicrocontroller), a microprocessor, a microcomputer, etc. In themeantime, the processor 155 or 180 may be implemented by various means,for example, hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. Ina hardware configuration, methods according to the embodiments of thepresent invention may be implemented by the processor 155 or 180, forexample, one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs),digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices(DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gatearrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers,microprocessors, etc.

In a firmware or software configuration, methods according to theembodiments of the present invention may be implemented in the form ofmodules, procedures, functions, etc. which perform the above-describedfunctions or operations. Firmware or software implemented in the presentinvention may be contained in the processor 155 or 180 or the memoryunit 160 or 185, such that it can be driven by the processor 155 or 180.

Radio interface protocol layers among the reception end 110, thetransmission end 105, and a wireless communication system (i.e.,network) can be classified into a first layer (L1 layer), a second layer(L2 layer) and a third layer (L3 layer) on the basis of the lower threelayers of the Open System Interconnection (OSI) reference model widelyknown in communication systems. A physical layer belonging to the firstlayer (L1) provides an information transfer service through a physicalchannel. A Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer belonging to the thirdlayer (L3) controls radio resources between the UE and the network. Thereception end 110 and the transmission end 105 may exchange RRC messageswith each other through the wireless communication network and the RRClayer. For example, the transmission end 105 may be a base station (BS),and the reception end 110 may be a UE or a relay node (RN). Ifnecessary, the reception end 110 may operate as the BS, and thetransmission end 105 may operate as a UE or RN.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a radio frame used in a3GPP LTE system acting as a mobile communication system.

Referring to FIG. 2, the radio frame has a length of 10 ms(327200*T_(s)) and includes 10 subframes of equal size. Each subframehas a length 1 ms and includes two slots. Each slot has a length of 0.5ms (15360×T_(s)). In this case, T_(s) represents a sampling time, and isexpressed by ‘T_(s)=1/(15 kHz*2048)=3.2552×10⁻⁸ (about 33 ns)’. The slotincludes a plurality of OFDM or SC-FDMA symbols in a time domain, andincludes a plurality of resource blocks (RBs) in a frequency domain.

In the LTE system, one resource block includes twelve (12)subcarriers*seven (or six) OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency DivisionMultiplexing) symbols. A Transmission Time Interval (TTI) which is atransmission unit time of data can be determined in a unit of one ormore subframes. The aforementioned structure of the radio frame is onlyexemplary, and various modifications can be made to the number ofsubframes contained in the radio frame or the number of slots containedin each subframe, or the number of OFDM or SC-FDMA symbols in each slot.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary structural diagram illustrating downlink anduplink subframes for use in a 3GPP LTE system as an exemplary mobilecommunication system according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3(a), one downlink subframe includes two slots in atime domain. A maximum of three OFDM symbols located in the front of thedownlink subframe are used as a control region to which control channelsare allocated, and the remaining OFDM symbols are used as a data regionto which a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) channel isallocated.

DL control channel for use in the 3GPP LTE system includes a PhysicalControl Format Indicator CHannel (PCFICH), a Physical Downlink ControlChannel (PDCCH), a Physical Hybrid-ARQ Indicator CHannel (PHICH), andthe like. The traffic channel includes a Physical Downlink SharedCHannel (PDSCH). PCFICH transmitted through a first OFDM symbol of thesubframe may carry information about the number of OFDM symbols (i.e.,the size of control region) used for transmission of control channelswithin the subframe. Control information transmitted through PDCCH isreferred to as downlink control information (DCI). The DCI may indicateUL resource allocation information, DL resource allocation information,UL transmission power control commands of arbitrary UE groups, etc.PHICH may carry ACK (Acknowledgement)/NACK (Not-Acknowledgement) signalsabout an UL Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (UL HARQ). That is, theACK/NACK signals about UL data transmitted from the UE are transmittedover PHICH.

PDCCH serving as a downlink physical channel will hereinafter bedescribed in detail.

A base station (BS) may transmit information about resource allocationand transmission format (UL grant) of the PDSCH, resource allocationinformation of the PUSCH, information about Voice over Internet Protocol(VoIP) activation, etc. A plurality of PDCCHs may be transmitted withinthe control region, and the UE may monitor the PDCCHs. Each PFCCHincludes an aggregate of one or more contiguous control channel elements(CCEs). The PDCCH composed of the aggregate of one or more contiguousCCEs may be transmitted through the control region after performingsubblock interleaving. CCE is a logical allocation unit for providing acoding rate based on a Radio frequency (RF) channel status to the PDCCH.CCE may correspond to a plurality of resource element groups. PDCCHformat and the number of available PDCCHs may be determined according tothe relationship between the number of CCEs and the coding rate providedby CCEs.

Control information transmitted over PDCCH is referred to as downlinkcontrol information (DCI). The following Table 1 shows DCIs in responseto DCI formats.

TABLE 1 DCI Format Description DCI format 0 used for the scheduling ofPUSCH DCI format 1 used for the scheduling of one PDSCH codeword DCIformat used for the compact scheduling of one PDSCH 1A codeword andrandom access procedure initiated by a PDCCH order DCI format used forthe compact scheduling of one PDSCH 1B codeword with precodinginformation DCI format used for very compact scheduling of one PDSCH 1Ccodeword DCI format used for the compact scheduling of one PDSCH 1Dcodeword with precoding and power offset information DCI format 2 usedfor scheduling PDSCH to UEs configured in closed-loop spatialmultiplexing mode DCI format used for scheduling PDSCH to UEs configuredin 2A open-loop spatial multiplexing mode DCI format 3 used for thetransmission of TPC commands for PUCCH and PUSCH with 2-bit poweradjustments DCI format used for the transmission of TPC commands for 3APUCCH and PUSCH with single bit power adjustments

In Table 1, DCI format 0 may indicate uplink resource allocationinformation. DCI format 1 and DCI format 2 may indicate downlinkresource allocation information. DCI format 3 and DCI format 3A mayindicate uplink transmit power control (TPC) commands for arbitrary UEgroups.

A method for allowing a BS to perform resource mapping for PDCCHtransmission in the LTE system will hereinafter be described in detail.

Generally, the BS may transmit scheduling allocation information andother control information to the UE over the PDCCH. A physical controlchannel (PDCCH) is configured in the form of one aggregate (oneaggregation) or several CCEs, and is transmitted as one aggregate orseveral CCEs. One CCE includes 9 resource element groups (REGs). Thenumber of RBGs unallocated to either Physical Control Format IndicatorChannel (PCFICH) or Physical Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request IndicatorChannel (PHICH) is N_(RBG). CCEs from 0 to N_(CCE)−1 may be available toa system (where, N _(CCE)=└N_(REG)/9┘). PDCCH supports multiple formatsas shown in the following Table 2. One PDCCH composed of n contiguousCCEs begins with a CCE having ‘i mod n=0’ (where ‘i’ is a CCE number).Multiple PDCCHs may be transmitted through one subframe.

TABLE 2 PDCCH Number of Number of resource- Number of format CCEselement groups PDCCH bits 0 1 9 72 1 2 18 144 2 4 36 288 3 8 72 576

Referring to Table 2, an eNode B (eNB) may decide a PDCCH formataccording to how many regions are required for the BS to transmitcontrol information. The UE reads control information and the like inunits of a CCE, resulting in reduction of overhead. Likewise, a relaynode (RN) may read control information or the like in units of R-CCE orCCE. In the LTE-A system, a resource element (RC) may be mapped in unitsof a Relay Control Channel Element (R-CCE) or CCE so as to transmit anR-PDCCH for an arbitrary RN.

Referring to FIG. 3(b), an uplink (UL) subframe may be divided into acontrol region and a data region in a frequency domain. The controlregion may be assigned to a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH)carrying uplink control information (UCI). The data region may beassigned to a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) carrying user data.In order to maintain single carrier characteristics, one UE does notsimultaneously transmit PUCCH and PUSCH. PUCCH for one UE may beassigned to a Resource Block (RB) pair in one subframe. RBs of the RBpair occupy different subcarriers in two slots. The RB pair assigned toPUCCH performs frequency hopping at a slot boundary.

FIG. 4 shows a downlink (DL) time-frequency resource grid structure foruse in a 3GPP LTE system.

Referring to FIG. 4, downlink transmission resources can be described bya resource grid including N_(RB) ^(DL)×N_(SC) ^(RB) subcarriers andN_(symb) ^(DL) OFDM symbols. Here, N_(RB) ^(DL) represents the number ofresource blocks (RBs) in a downlink, N_(SC) ^(RB) represents the numberof subcarriers constituting one RB, and N_(symb) ^(DL) represents thenumber of OFDM symbols in one downlink slot. N_(RB) ^(DL)varies with adownlink transmission bandwidth constructed in a cell, and must satisfyN_(RB) ^(min,DL)≦N_(RB) ^(DL)≦N_(RB) ^(max,DL). Here, N_(RB) ^(min,DL)is the smallest downlink bandwidth supported by the wirelesscommunication system, and N_(RB) ^(max,DL) is the largest downlinkbandwidth supported by the wireless communication system. AlthoughN_(RB) ^(min,DL) may be set to 6 (N_(RB) ^(min,DL)=6) and N_(RB)^(max,DL) may be set to 110 (N_(RB) ^(max,DL)=110), the scopes of N_(RB)^(min,UL) and N_(RB) ^(max,UL) are not limited thereto. The number ofOFDM symbols contained in one slot may be differently defined accordingto the length of a Cyclic Prefix (CP) and spacing between subcarriers.When transmitting data or information via multiple antennas, oneresource grid may be defined for each antenna port.

Each element contained in the resource grid for each antenna port iscalled a resource element (RE), and can be identified by an index pair(k,l) contained in a slot, where k is an index in a frequency domain andis set to any one of 0, . . . , N_(RB) ^(DL)N_(SC) ^(RB)−1, and is anindex in a time domain and is set to any one of 0, . . . , N_(symb)^(DL)−1.

Resource blocks (RBs) shown in FIG. 4 are used to describe a mappingrelationship between certain physical channels and resource elements(REs). The RBs can be classified into physical resource blocks (PRBs)and virtual resource blocks (VRBs). One PRB is defined by N_(symb) ^(DL)consecutive OFDM symbols in a time domain and N_(SC) ^(RB) consecutivesubcarriers in a frequency domain N_(symb) ^(DL) and N_(SC) ^(RB) may bepredetermined values, respectively. For example, N_(symb) ^(DL) andN_(SC) ^(RB) may be given as shown in the following Table 1. Therefore,one PRB may be composed of N_(symb) ^(DL)×N_(SC) ^(RB) resourceelements. One PRB may correspond to one slot in a time domain and mayalso correspond to 180 kHz in a frequency domain, but it should be notedthat the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto.

TABLE 3 Configuration N_(sc) ^(RB) N_(symb) ^(DL) Normal Δf = 15 kHz 127 cyclic prefix Extended Δf = 15 kHz 6 cyclic prefix  Δf = 7.5 kHz 24 3

The PRBs are assigned numbers from 0 to N_(RB) ^(DL)−1 in the frequencydomain. The VRB may have the same size as that of the PRB. The VRB maybe classified into a localized VRB (LVRB) and a distributed VRB (DVRB).For each VRB type, a pair of PRBs allocated over two slots of onesubframe is assigned a single VRB number n_(VRB).

The VRB may have the same size as that of the PRB. Two types of VRBs aredefined, the first one being a localized VRB (LVRB) and the second onebeing a distributed type (DVRB). For each VRB type, a pair of PRBs mayhave a single VRB index (which may hereinafter be referred to as a ‘VRBnumber’) and are allocated over two slots of one subframe. In otherwords, N_(RB) ^(DL) VRBs belonging to a first one of two slotsconstituting one subframe are each assigned any one index of 0 to N_(RB)^(DL)−1, and N_(RB) ^(DL) VRBs belonging to a second one of the twoslots are likewise each assigned any one index of 0 to N_(RB) ^(DL)−1.

The radio frame structure, the downlink subframe, the uplink subframe,and the downlink time-frequency resource grid structure shown in FIGS. 2to 4 may also be applied between a base station (BS) and a relay node(RN).

A method for allowing the BS to transmit a PDCCH to a user equipment(UE) in an LTE system will hereinafter be described in detail. The BSdetermines a PDCCH format according to a DCI to be sent to the UE, andattaches a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) to control information. Aunique identifier (e.g., a Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI)) ismasked onto the CRC according to PDCCH owners or utilities. In case of aPDCCH for a specific UE, a unique ID of a user equipment (UE), forexample, C-RNTI (Cell-RNTI) may be masked onto CRC. Alternatively, incase of a PDCCH for a paging message, a paging indication ID (forexample, R-RNTI (Paging-RNTI)) may be masked onto CRC. In case of aPDCCH for system information (SI), a system information ID (i.e.,SI-RNTI) may be masked onto CRC. In order to indicate a random accessresponse acting as a response to an UE's random access preambletransmission, RA-RNTI (Random Access-RNTI) may be masked onto CRC. Thefollowing Table 4 shows examples of IDs masked onto PDCCH and/orR-PDCCH.

TABLE 4 Type Identifier Description UE- C-RNTI used for the UEcorresponding to the C-RNTI. specific Common P-RNTI used for pagingmessage. SI-RNTI used for system information (It could be differentiatedaccording to the type of system information). RA- used for random accessresponse (It could be RNTI differentiated according to subframe or PRACHslot index for UE PRACH transmission). TPC- used for uplink transmitpower control RNTI command (It could be differentiated according to theindex of UE TPC group).

If C-RNTI is used, PDCCH may carry control information for a specificUE, and R-PDCCH may carrier control information for a specific RN. Ifanother RNTI is used, PDCCH may carry common control information that isreceived by all or some UEs contained in the cell, and R-PDCCH may carrycommon control information that is received by all or some RNs containedin the cell. The BS performs channel coding of the CRC-added DCI so asto generate coded data. The BS performs rate matching according to thenumber of CCEs allocated to a PDCCH or R-PDCCH format. Thereafter, theBS modulates the coded data so as to generate modulated symbols. Inaddition, the BS maps the modulated symbols to physical resourceelements.

The embodiment of the present invention proposes a method for applyingth spatial multiplexing scheme to a control channel (for example,Advanced PDCCH (A-PDCCH), Enhanced PDCCH, ePDCCH, etc.) obtained byimprovement of a PDCCH channel serving as a control channel of thelegacy 3GPP LTE system. In addition, the spatial multiplexing schemeapplied to the improved control channel may be equally applied to aRelay-Physical Downlink Control Channel (R-PDCCH) of the 3GPP LTE-Asystem unless otherwise mentioned. Here, R-PDCCH may be referred to as abackhaul physical downlink control channel for relay transmission fromthe BS to the RN, and is used as a control channel for the RN.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a legacy PDCCH concept andan A-PDCCH scheme proposed by the embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 5(a), a PDCCH region 510 is allocated to one subframe,and downlink control information (for example, DL grant, UL grant, etc.)received from the PDCCH region 510 relates to a PDSCH 520 contained inthe same subframe. The processor 155 of the UE may decode a PDSCH region520 on the basis of DL control information received from the PDCCH 510so as to acquire data.

Referring to FIG. 5(b), A-PDCCH 540 may be allocated to the PDSCH regionserving as a data reception region in the legacy LTE system. A-PDCCH 540may carry DL scheduling assignment information for PDSCH 1 (550) and aPhysical Uplink Shared CHannel (PUSCH) UL scheduling grant. Generally,when a PDCCH 530 is not received, the A-PDCCH 540 may be transmitted onthe basis of a UE-specific reference signal.

The UE may simultaneously receive the A-PDCCH 540 and the PDCCH 530, andmay decode PDSCH 1 (550) upon receiving additional assistance from thePDCCH 530. Referring to FIG. 5(b), the A-PDCCH 540 may be FDM-processedalong with PDSCH 1 (550) and PDSCH 2 (560) within a data region of thelegacy LTE system.

In order to obtain beamforming gain, the BS may apply precoding to a DMRS (DeModulation Reference Signal)—based A-PDCCH 540. The UE may decodethe A-PDCCH on the basis of a DM RS. In this case, a reference signal(RS) for use in the LTE-A system will hereinafter be described indetail.

One important consideration in designing an LTE-A system is backwardcompatibility. Backward compatibility is the ability to support existingLTE UEs such that the LTE UEs properly operate in the LTE-A system. IfRSs for up to 8 transmit antennas are added to time-frequency domains inwhich a CRS defined in the LTE standard is transmitted every subframeover an entire band, RS overhead is excessively increased from theviewpoint of RS transmission. That is, assuming that RS patterns for upto 8 Tx antennas are added to each subframe of the entire band in thesame manner as in CRS of legacy LTE, RS overhead excessively increases.Therefore, there is a need to take into consideration RS overheadreduction when designing new RSs for up to 8 antenna ports. RSs newlyintroduced in the LTE-A system may be largely classified into two types.One is a DeModulation RS (DM RS) which is an RS for demodulating datatransmitted through up to 8 transmit antennas. The other is a ChannelState Information RS (CSI-RS) which is an RS for channel measurement forselection of a Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS), a Precoding MatrixIndex (PMI), or the like. The CSI-RS for channel measurement ischaracterized in that the CSI-RS is designed mainly for channelmeasurement unlike the CRS of the conventional LTE system which is usednot only for measurement of handover or the like but also for datamodulation. Of course, the CSI-RS may also be used for measurement ofhandover or the like. Since the CSI-RS is transmitted only for thepurpose of obtaining information regarding channel conditions, theCSI-RS need not be transmitted every subframe, unlike the CRS of theconventional LTE system. Accordingly, to reduce CSI-RS overhead, theCSI-RS may be designed to perform transmission intermittently(periodically) in the time domain. For data demodulation, DM-RS istransmitted to a UE scheduled in the corresponding time-frequencydomain. That is, DM-RS of a specific UE is transmitted only to ascheduled region (i.e., a time-frequency region for data reception) ofthe corresponding UE.

Meanwhile, the present invention provides a solution method of theproblems encountered when an A-PDCCH Search Space (e.g., RS RE) isoverlapped with a synchronization channel or a Physical BroadcastChannel (PBCH).

As described above, FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a methodfor employing physical layer (PHY) or higher layer informationtransferred through a legacy PDCCH and PDSCH2 during transmission ofA-PDCCH—based PDSCH1.

Of course, if a subject of FIG. 5 is a user equipment (UE), the UE mayreceive all or some parts of a plurality of channels, for example, aPrimary Synchronization Signal (PSS), a Secondary Synchronization Signal(SSS), a Broadcast Channel (BCH), a Physical Control Format IndicatorChannel (PCFICH), a Physical Hybrid ARQ Indicator Channel (PHICH), aPaging Channel (PCH), etc.

On the contrary, according to LTE technology, a set of restricted CCElocations at which PDCCH will be located may be used for each UE. Inthis case, the set of CCE locations at which the UE will search for aPDCCH thereof may be considered a search space. In LTE, the search spacemay have different sizes for respective PDCCH formats.

In addition, the separate dedicated search space and the common searchspace may be defined separately from each other. In this case, theseparate dedicated search space is configured independently from eachUE, and all UEs may recognize the extent of a common search space.

In general, the A-PDCCH search space may be semi-statically configuredby RRC signaling (without excluding dynamic configuration). Therefore,there may arise configuration restriction problems in which a searchspace (specifically, DM RS based A-PDCCH) must be configured whilesimultaneously avoiding BCH, PSS, and SSS signals periodically (e.g., atintervals of several milliseconds) transmitted according to apredetermined pattern.

FIG. 6 shows an example of collision between PBCH(Physical BroadcastChannel)/PSS/SSS and R-PDCCH Search Space based on DM-RS according to anembodiment.

Referring to FIG. 6, since SSS is located at the sixth OFDM symbol, theSSS may collide with a DM RS RE (located at 5^(th) and 6^(th) symbols)of a first slot. In case of using the CRS based A-PDCCH, there may arisecollision in a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) sent to a second slot.

Since A-PDCCH decoding failure may occur in a resource regionoverlapping situation between resources used by respective channels, thepresent invention proposes the following methods.

First Embodiment

Although the semi-static A-PDCCH search space is configured, the eNB maynot transmit A-PDCCH(s) at a subframe (e.g., Subframes #0 and #5) wherea problematic channel is transmitted. In this case, if A-PDCCH is notdetected, the UE may assume non-transmission of the A-PDCCH.

In accordance with another method for solving the above problems, amethod for preventing transmission of A-PDCCH and associated PDSCH atthe problematic subframe (e.g., Subframes #0 and #5) may be used.

In accordance with another method for solving the above problems, amethod for transmitting A-PDCCH(s) at a subframe prior to theproblematic subframe may be used as necessary.

For example, a method for performing pre-scheduling at Subframes #9 and#4 may be used.

Second Embodiment

In accordance with another method for solving the above-mentionedproblems, a method for transmitting A-PDCCH(a) only in the remainingregions other than the overlapped region from among the A-PDCCH searchspace may be used as necessary.

That is, a VRB set configured by RRC signaling may be equally maintainedin contiguous subframes. Although A-PDCCH CCEs are successivelyallocated to contiguous subframes, the VRB-to-PRB mapping process isperformed by skipping the overlapped region.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a method for performingmodified VRB-to-PRB mapping considering a plurality of overlapped RBsaccording to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 7, the VRB-to-PRB mapping rule may use ResourceAllocation (RA) Type 0, Resource Allocation (RA) Type 1, and ResourceAllocation (RA) Type 2. If necessary, the modified rule may be used.

In accordance with another example, after the remaining search spacePRBs other than PRBs belonging to the overlapped region from among a PRBsearch space are newly indexed, a method for using the legacy mappingrule may be used.

In this case, the UE may recognize the overlapped region and the searchspace configuration, such that the UE may avoid unnecessary blinddecoding in the overlapped region.

Third Embodiment

Meanwhile, in accordance with another method for solving theabove-mentioned problem, a method for mapping the A-PDCCH to be actuallytransmitted on the VRB index in consideration of the overlapped regionmay be used as necessary.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a VRB set configurationconsidering an overlapped region according to an embodiment.

That is, referring to FIG. 8, assuming that the above-mentioned methodis designed in a manner that a VRB with “X” is scheduled to be mapped tothe overlapped region, the above-mentioned method skips the VRB with “X”and maps the R-PDCCH CCE to VRBs #3 and #4.

In another implementation example, the VRB index to be mapped to theoverlapped PRB is recognized and the recognized VRB index may be used asa null PRB.

That is, A-PDCCH is not allocated to the null PRB, and the A-PDCCH maybe allocated only to the remaining available VRBs. In this case, the UEmay recognize the overlapped region, and the search space configurationcan also be recognized, such that unnecessary blind decoding can beavoided in the overlapped region.

Fourth Embodiment

Meanwhile, as another method for solving the above-mentioned problems, amethod for enabling a UE and an eNB to perform the following rules so asto prevent unnecessary blind decoding of the UE may be used, and adetailed description thereof will be described in FIG. 9.

First, if the UE meets the overlapped region while simultaneouslyperforming blind decoding in a designated search space, it may beconsidered that the A-PDCCH has been transmitted only to the searchspace configured before the overlapped RB.

In this case, the eNB may follow the rule in which the A-PDCCH is notmapped to the overlapped region.

Through the above actions, the CCE aggregation level may be implicitlytransferred to the UE, and at the same time the UE may avoid anunnecessary blind decoding trial in the overlapped region.

In addition, the UE assumes that the A-PDCCH mapping is skipped over theoverlapped region, and performs blind decoding based on the assumption.The above UE assumption is shown in FIG. 10.

Referring to FIG. 10, the UE may avoid the unnecessary blind decodingtrial in the overlapped region. In the case of using the abovetechnology, the present invention must be implemented in a different wayfrom the legacy UE, and the eNB transmission operation may be changed toanother.

Fifth Embodiment

Another method for solving the above-mentioned problem is shown in FIG.11. Referring to FIG. 11, although 4 CCE aggregations are configured ata VRB level, information or data is not transmitted in the overlappingregion of the search space, resulting in 2 CCE aggregation levels. Inthis case, the UE must recognize that A-PDCCH will not be transmitted tothe overlapping region.

In this case, a signal is transmitted at a level lower than the intendedaggregation level, such that A-PDCCH decoding throughput may bedeteriorated. Considering the above-mentioned problem, it is preferablethat the eNB may increase the CCE aggregation level in consideration ofthe number of RBs excluded from the PRB.

Meanwhile, according to the above-mentioned embodiments, the VRB sizemay be different from the CCE size as necessary. Accordingly, theabove-mentioned proposed methods may indicate not only the VRB-to-PRBmapping but also the CCE-to-VRB or CCE-to-PRB mapping.

In accordance with the above-mentioned embodiments, A-PDCCH or R-PDCCHdecoding throughput may be improved at a reception end, and A-PDCCH orR-PDCCH may be transmitted by a transmission end according to thespatial multiplexing (SM) scheme, resulting in increase in resource useefficiency.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the objectsthat can be achieved by the present invention are not limited to whathas been particularly described hereinabove and the above and otherobjects that the present invention can achieve will be more clearlyunderstood from the foregoing detailed description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings. The exemplary embodiments describedhereinabove are combinations of elements and features of the presentinvention. The elements or features may be considered selective unlessotherwise mentioned. Each element or feature may be practiced withoutbeing combined with other elements or features. Further, the embodimentsof the present invention may be constructed by combining parts of theelements and/or features. Operation orders described in the embodimentsof the present invention may be rearranged. Some constructions orcharacteristics of any one embodiment may be included in anotherembodiment and may be replaced with corresponding constructions orcharacteristics of another embodiment. It is apparent that the presentinvention may be embodied by a combination of claims which do not havean explicitly cited relation in the appended claims or may include newclaims by amendment after the application is filed.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the present inventionwithout departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore,the above-mentioned detailed description must be considered forillustrative purposes only, not restrictive purposes. The scope of thepresent invention must be decided by a rational analysis of the claims,and all modifications within equivalent ranges of the present inventionare within the scope of the present invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As is apparent from the above description, a method for transmitting asignal using a plurality of antenna ports and a transmission end for thesame according to the embodiments of the present invention can beapplied to various mobile communication systems, for example, 3GPP LTE,LTE-A, IEEE 802, and the like.

1. A method for receiving a signal by a terminal in a wirelesscommunication system, the method comprising: receiving, from a basestation (BS), configuration information for a first channel; andmonitoring the first channel in a first resource region of a pluralityof resource regions within a data region of a subframe according to theconfiguration information, wherein the first channel is anAdvanced-Physical Downlink Control Channel (A-PDCCH), wherein the firstresource region is a resource region within the data region of thesubframe which does not overlap a second resource region within the dataregion of the subframe, the second resource region being used by the BSfor transmitting a second channel to the terminal, and wherein thesecond channel is periodically transmitted.
 2. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the second channel includes at least one of a PrimarySynchronization Signal (PSS), a Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS),and a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH).
 3. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the configuration information is transmitted throughRRC (radio resource control) signaling, MAC (medium access control)signaling, or physical (PHY) layer signaling.
 4. The method according toclaim 1, wherein each of the plurality of resource regions correspondsto a resource block (RB).
 5. The method according to claim 1, whereinthe BS is an evolved Node B (eNodeB) and the terminal is a userequipment (UE) or relay node (RN).
 6. The method according to claim 1,further comprising: receiving the first channel as a result of themonitoring.
 7. A terminal configured to receive a signal in a wirelesscommunication system, the method comprising: a reception moduleconfigured to receive, from a base station (BS), configurationinformation for a first channel; and a processor configured to monitorthe first channel in a first resource region of a plurality of resourceregions within a data region of a subframe according to theconfiguration information, wherein the first channel is anAdvanced-Physical Downlink Control Channel (A-PDCCH), wherein the firstresource region is a resource region within the data region of thesubframe which does not overlap a second resource region within the dataregion of the subframe, the second resource region being used by the BSfor transmitting a second channel to the terminal, and wherein thesecond channel is periodically transmitted.
 8. The terminal according toclaim 7, wherein the second channel includes at least one of a PrimarySynchronization Signal (PSS), a Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS),and a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH).
 9. The terminal according toclaim 7, wherein the configuration information is transmitted throughRRC (radio resource control) signaling, MAC (medium access control)signaling, or physical (PHY) layer signaling.
 10. The terminal accordingto claim 7, wherein each of the plurality of resource regionscorresponds to a resource block (RB).
 11. The terminal according toclaim 7, wherein the BS is an evolved Node B (eNodeB) and the terminalis a user equipment (UE) or relay node (RN).
 12. The terminal accordingto claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to receive thefirst channel as a result of the monitoring.